Did I make a mistake in choosing a racquet?

Hello, I'm looking for some racquet advice. I started playing tennis in Spring of '07 with friends, and we've played on a fairly consistent basis since then (about once or twice a week during the summers). I bought my first racquet not long after we started playing, and it was a $20 Wilson Impact. I'd been playing with it ever since until the last time we played, when the string broke. I'd been thinking about getting a better racquet for a while, but this finally gave me a motive to drop a little bit more money on a new one. Reading the reviews online, I was favoring the Head Liquidmetal 4, and went to Academy to purchase a racquet. I found that they had none, but I did wind up purchasing a Head Liquidmetal Radical MidPlus. Reading the reviews for it, it seems like it may be for players a bit beyond my skill level; I would grade myself a 3.0 player at best. I've yet to really try it out (I've actually yet to remove the wrapping on the handle), but I'd kind of like to know if I should expect to be frustrated by it. I'm already worried about moving to a significantly smaller headsize.

fried rice,
I teach tennis professionally and the importance of proper equipment for your ability is often overlooked. Buying a racquet off of reviews alone is not generally the best way to go about things, and the Head Liquidmetal line of racquets is no longer their current line. My best advice is to go to a local specialty shop where they have a demo program. The saleperson should be able to point you in the right direction, but be prepared to spend a little bit of coin ($170-$220). But your playing experience is worth it, as a 3.0 player you should be able to differentiate between how different brands and models play. I also would strongly urge you to get a racquet that is not pre strung, this gives you the ability to customize the racquets string tension, thickness, and feel. A specialty shop can also ensure proper grip size to avoid injury to the arm and wrist.
since you haven't taken the plastic off the grip i would return the racquet and find a demo program... a few suggestions: Head Radical Team (a friendlier version of the radical targeted at your ability level), Wilson K Blade Team, Dunlop 500, Wilson K4 or 5, Wilson K6-2, (I have a contract with wilson so i suggest mostly their product) Babolat Pure Drive or Storm Team.
The frames i suggested also will allow room for improvment so you won't have to go spend another couple hundred bucks in a year.
Hope this was helpful!!

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Originally Posted by CtTennisPro

fried rice,
I teach tennis professionally and the importance of proper equipment for your ability is often overlooked. Buying a racquet off of reviews alone is not generally the best way to go about things, and the Head Liquidmetal line of racquets is no longer their current line. My best advice is to go to a local specialty shop where they have a demo program. The saleperson should be able to point you in the right direction, but be prepared to spend a little bit of coin ($170-$220). But your playing experience is worth it, as a 3.0 player you should be able to differentiate between how different brands and models play. I also would strongly urge you to get a racquet that is not pre strung, this gives you the ability to customize the racquets string tension, thickness, and feel. A specialty shop can also ensure proper grip size to avoid injury to the arm and wrist.
since you haven't taken the plastic off the grip i would return the racquet and find a demo program... a few suggestions: Head Radical Team (a friendlier version of the radical targeted at your ability level), Wilson K Blade Team, Dunlop 500, Wilson K4 or 5, Wilson K6-2, (I have a contract with wilson so i suggest mostly their product) Babolat Pure Drive or Storm Team.
The frames i suggested also will allow room for improvment so you won't have to go spend another couple hundred bucks in a year.
Hope this was helpful!!

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I appreciate the response, but I'd decided to stick with what I purchased. I've only used it for a friendly game of Canadian doubles so far but I like the feel. I'll definitely heed your advice when I go to buy my next racquet, I hope that by then I'll actually be into competitive play and willing/able to spend more money.